Small Gods X Double Vision
BEER // On Monday 22nd April 1661 Samuel Peyps and his pal Sir Thomas Batten had a lovely time watching the great royal procession for Charles II's coronation in London. They celebrated by heading to a Mum-house and getting 'very merry' on bowls of 'fattening Mum'. At least as early as 1390 Mumme was the beer of choice in Braunschweig, Germany. Drinkers described the pitch black drink as extremely bitter, so thick you'd need a knife and "strong as six horses, coach and all". It is thought that Mumme was the first beer in Germany to be made with hops rather than other botanicals. As the decades passed, various versions emerged - Stadtmumme (town mum) was designed for everyday consumption and distinguished by it's inferior strength from the potent Shiffmumme (ship mum) designed for export. As the English embraced the style, they tinkered and incorporated all manner of botanicals into recipes that were close guarded secrets. Fir branches, pennyroyal, bruised barberries and 'ten new-laid eggs unbroken' are just some of the ingredients we encountered while researching recipes and trying to figure out what a bushel is. Black Narcissus is a modern interpretation of a style nobody has drunk in hundreds of years. The brew incorporates cardamon pods and blessed thistle to give it a unique herbal, savoury flavour. The maltbill was huge to result in a 12.5% beer and includes wheat and oats for mouthfeel. The wort was boiled for around 4 hours, reducing the volume by a third and creating an even thicker beer. We have no idea how accurate it is to the Mummes of old but we're pretty happy with it 🍻
AWARDS // Gold Medal 2019 Brewer’s Guild Awards
Silver Medal 2021 Brewer’s Guild Awards
COLLABORATORS // Double Vision
Double Vision are Evarn, Warren, Mario & Harry. A bunch of Wellington based mates whose enthusiasm for home brewing became more than a hobby when they officially launched in July 2016. Before then, their 100L pilot brewery had been working overtime as their bar manager friends started to insist they ramp up production so they could sell DVB beers in their bars. By day the foursome were engineers and graphic designers but by night (as well as evenings, weekends and early mornings) they become Double Vision. They draw influence from a wide variety of beer cultures with Warren being involved with the Colorado beer scene and Evarn having fallen in love with European styles while living in Holland. They recently opened their brewery and bar in Park Road, Wellington where they host food trucks and live music every weekend.
BREWERY // Small Gods & Double Vision
BEER // Black Narcissus
STYLE // Mumme
ORIGIN // Wellington
ABV // 12.5%
TEMPERATURE // Cellar Temp - around 10-13C. About an hour out of the fridge
FOOD MATCH // Paté. Quinoa Felafel w. Cucumber